


Careful What You Wish For

by RedRabbitWriting



Category: Dragon Quest Builders (Video Games)
Genre: Fix-It, Other, Spoilers, Tags May Change, moonbrooke
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-10-10
Updated: 2020-10-21
Packaged: 2020-12-07 11:20:10
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 4,721
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20975045
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RedRabbitWriting/pseuds/RedRabbitWriting
Summary: Malroth wished Moonbrooke had gone differently. He learns that wishing can have unexpected results.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Something that came from thinking about what Malroth thought of Moonbrooke after everything had calmed down

As gulls flew overhead, Malroth watched the waves lap at the setting sun from his usual spot at the beach. It was the same small outcrop where he had first met the Builder and he often found himself returning to it when he needed space. Much to his irritation, his friends had taken to calling it his ‘Brooding Rock’; he wasn’t brooding god damnit! It was just a good place to clear his thoughts. And right now, his thoughts were revolving as they so often did, around the Builder. Or more specifically, what the Builder was avoiding. Moonbrooke. He knew why, it was the same reason they still didn’t stick around for long at the Steppe. Even after all this time, and all bad feelings had long since been cleared, the memories from that part of their journey were still too painful. And at least part of that was his fault.

Anessa had invited them with her to visit the island kingdom. He’d been all for it, wanting to pay respects to the graves of the soldiers he’d failed to protect. But the Builder, they had become immediately uncomfortable, turning down the invitation as politely as possible, citing an overflowing work schedule before vanishing to another part of the island. In the end, he decided to stay back too, not wanting to leave his friend in such an uneasy state. But when he caught up with them, they had insisted that everything was fine, it was sweet of him to worry, but they were ok really.

He’d pointed out how bad they were at hiding their troubles. To stop being stubborn and just talk about it already or at the very least come fight something with him. He just wanted to help, in whatever way they would let him. The Builder had just looked at him sadly, saying he couldn’t rewrite the past. They would be fine, eventually. But not right now. The whole encounter had left a sour taste in his mouth, he hated feeling so useless!

And so that had led him to now, sat on his rock, totally not brooding, watching the sun dip below the water. The sky erupted into stars. He lay back to gaze at the tiny lights, sighing in aggravation as another wave of thoughts ran through his mind. Hindsight really was a pain. Looking back, he could see everything he could have done differently if he’d just trusted his gut, if he had trusted the Builder and their friendship, if he’d spoken up about his own problems, his own feelings. They had been up against it from the moment they set foot on the island, but maybe, just maybe, it could have been a slightly less bitter experience.

A path of light streaked overhead, beautiful and bright as the trail faded away. Lulu had told him once that you could wish on a falling star. He’d laughed at the notion, calling it stupid and childish, but in the dead of night, with just himself and the stars, a little wishful thinking couldn’t hurt. He thought of those key moments where he could have said something, done something differently. Thought about what he would have said, had he only known what he did now. And to an audience of millions, he spoke.

“I wish I had handled it differently.” he whispered to the night. With bated breath, he waited, watching for any sign of something happening. But of course, there was nothing, the stars weren’t listening. Sighing deeply through his nose, he let the sound of the water quiet his mind and carry him off into sleep.

Except that was not the end of things. Not far below him, and just out of sight of his rock, a small starfish  _ had _ been listening. And it decided it would like to grant this strange man his wish, for regret was a terrible thing to live with. The little starfish started to glow, magic rising from it, through the water and into the air. It covered the beach in a strange mist before vanishing suddenly. And just like that, the beach was empty.

-

Malroth woke to the familiar sway of a ship at sea, though the chilly air was an unwelcome addition. Pushing himself up in the bunk and groaning, he rubbed at his face trying to get rid of the headache stabbing behind his eyes. That had been one hell of a weird dream, but just what had made it so strange escaped him, slipping from his mind in the way that dreams usually did.

Looking up as someone entered the room, he felt a wave of satisfaction at seeing it was the Builder. And they had brought him breakfast.

“Morning sleepy head, it's almost noon,” they grinned, handing him a package of dumplings. “Not like you to sleep in.” He shifted so they could sit on the end of the bunk, unwrapping their own food.

“I probably didn’t want to wake up because it's so cold. What is with that?” he grumbled around a mouthful of food.

“We’re almost at the island. Apparently Moonbrooke gets a lot of snow so it’d make sense for it to be colder, though hopefully we don’t have to stay too long, I already feel like my nose might fall off!” He’d always found their laugh contagious, and soon he was grinning too. They hopped off the bed and headed for the door.

“It won’t be long before we dock. See you on deck when you’re ready.” They waved as they left, but Malroth was hit with a very sudden and disorientating feeling of déjà vu.

They’d this exact conversation before, the first time they’d come to Moonbrooke. But wasn’t this the first time? It had to be right? He looked to where he’d set his weapon. Wait, where was his hammer? He was sure that’s what- It was like being hit by a tidal wave as everything came back. Everything that had happened, and everything that was going to happen. It was impossible, how had he- The wish. Malroth remembered the wish! There was no way this was real, he had to still be dreaming! A quick smack to the cheek only left his face sore as everything stayed the same. Panic coursed through him at the realisation he’d really done it this time.

Grasping the blankets, he tried to calm the pounding in his ears. He had wished for a chance to do things differently and now he had it. But this wasn’t what he meant! He didn’t want to relive this! And he really didn’t want to deal with what came after… But maybe, maybe he could make things easier. The Builder had been left to deal with the aftermath of this island without him, this time he could make sure they didn’t have to. Malroth felt a steely determination settle in his gut. He had been given the chance to make things even just a little bit better and he would be damned if he wasn’t going to take it.

Grabbing his weapon, he went to join his friend up on deck. This wasn’t going to be easy but at least he wasn’t going in blind. As Malroth stepped into the icy open air, he almost didn’t feel the cold. Whether it was anticipation or his resolve, you could almost say he was all fired up.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Poor boy. I have the rest of this planned out if I can get round to it. This works as a stand-alone until then :)


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Surprise! At last the long awaited continuation! Sorry for the delay, life took the wheel for a while but rest assured I am determined to complete this story! [Insert dramatic pose] And also, the builder has finally been given a name, so say hello to River :D
> 
> Thank you all so much for your kind patience and encouragement, its really kept me going, and huge thanks to @gigglebug for the beta <3

The dock was just as worn and frostbitten as he remembered. As Malroth and his builder stepped off the boat, the freezing water sloshed below them. Malroth took a deep breath, watching the air mist as he exhaled, an almost giddy feeling bubbling up in his chest. Time to change history.

"So, this is Moonbrooke?" He made a show of surveying the frozen landscape. "Doesn’t look like there's any life here, let alone strong warriors. Hey Brownbeard, you sure this is the right place?" The captain who had been nervously inching back towards the boat startled.

"That it is, Master Malroth! I'll uh, just stay here an' see to the ship. When ye two want to head back just say the word!"

"You got it," River chuckled, but their expression turned sad as they took in the great icy cliffs before them. "We better try and find someone before it gets dark, I don’t particularly want to sleep in the snow…" they trailed off, looking at Malroth mischievously as they scooped up a handful of the fluffy white powder, shaping it into a ball. "This is your first time seeing snow, right Mal?"

"Of course I hav—haven’t! Is that what this weird white stuff is?" Malroth corrected himself quickly, kicking at a pile of loose snow in an effort to hide the fluster. That was close. They'd been on the island less than five minutes and he'd almost—SMACK!

The snowball hit him square in the face, its freezing slush soaking into him just as white hot pain ran through his mind. He heard River rush over as Malroth clutched his head, an agonisingly familiar voice invading his ears.

_ O mighty Malroth, Master of Destruction… This isle abounds with death and devastation. The perfect place for You to… Ah… It would seem You have already tasted true destruction… Very well then, may my powers hasten Your reawakening… _

What the hell was that? Did... Hargon somehow know he was from the future? What did he mean by— River's shaking pulled Malroth out of his mental dread.

"Malroth hey, are you ok? Is your head ok, did I hit you too hard? I'm so sorry, I was just trying to lighten the mood!" they rambled.

"I'm fine, but that was really cold," he grumbled, fighting a wave of nausea. "I think that thing gave me a brain freeze." Whatever the builder was going to say was interrupted by a voice that riled up something furious in Malroth.

"By Jove! What in the world do we have here, then?"

As they both turned to look at the new arrival, Malroth felt his face turn thunderous the longer he stared at that stupid mop of azure hair. _Warwick. _That double-crossing rat bastard, it was all his fault! Malroth was going to kill him! Maybe not yet, he had other goals to deal with first but—

It was like coming up for air, his stomach roiling as light-headedness made his vision swim. Malroth had to physically shudder to remove the last shreds of… whatever that was from his mind. The nausea returned full force before coiling up into an uneasy knot. That… that was new. Were bouts of spontanious aggression a thing he would have to deal with now? He didn’t have a problem admitting his temper had a short fuse, but the thought of such _uncharacteristicly_ murderous rage overcoming him sounded like a problem.

Shaking his head, Malroth took the disturbing feelings and shoved them under his trump card. As long as he paid attention to what was happening, everything would be fine, he could handle any new surprises the world could throw at him.

Feeling slightly more assured he turned to his builder who… wasn’t there… damn it.

It was only when he saw a head of brown hair bounding up the snowy path towards the  _ bastard _ that he realised he'd fallen behind.

He caught up just in time to see Warwick sheathing his sword in front of a bemused builder. The blue haired man cast a critical eye over River, frowning.

"Judging by your vacant expression, it would suggest you haven’t the slyness for that manner of subterfuge. Perhaps you're not in league with the enemy after all. But then, what in the world brings you to a place like this?"

"Hey buddy, you usually threaten and insult new people, or are you just having a really pissy day?" Malroth bristled drawing his club. He remembered this guy being an ass but had he really been one right off the bat? The memory was hazy but the thought that Malroth hadn't made a stand the first time round soured whatever good humour he had left. It only got worse when Warwick gave him an unimpressed look.

A gentle hand on his shoulder cooled Malroth's anger slightly, the builder giving him an affectionate look before they addressed Warwick.

"Please, we're not here to cause trouble. I'm a builder, and my friend and I are looking for fighters to help protect our island from the Children of Hargon." They flashed a good-natured smile.

"A builder…Could the legends be true?" Warwick hummed thoughtfully. Malroth saw something flash in his eyes, but it was gone before he could identify it. "Could you be the builder who will bring balance back to Moonbrooke?"

Mind seemingly made up, Warwick gave them a stiff salute, formally introducing himself as captain of the Moonbrooke Guards. The whole thing was so sycophantic, Malroth had to bite his tongue to hold back the snarky comments that kept trying to jump out. He didn’t know why everything the guy said suddenly irritated him, but it did and Malroth was starting to realise that the captain had a  _ very  _ punchable face.  _ Keep it together you idiot. Don’t blow this before it's even started! _

"My good fellow, I require your aid! Follow me, I prithee!" the captain beseeched River, completely ignoring Malroth now.

"Of course, how can we help?" River replied, their determined spirit shining through.

Without so much as another word, Warwick rushed ahead up the path, River close behind him. They wouldn’t question that Malroth would be on the builder's heels. A chilling wind blew up the path, disturbing the top layer of snow into little vortexes at his feet. Malroth ground his teeth with a growl. River's desire to help everyone was one of the many reasons he would stand by them no matter what, but it left them vulnerable to people who would take advantage of that kindness. People like Warwick.  _Pretentious git. _

If he could have his way Malroth would have kept the guy on the other end of the island, as far away from his builder as possible. But that's how they had to play it now, wasn't it? Too much of this island involved Warwick, almost like he was sewn into the very fabric of it. Covering his face with his hands, Malroth gave a muffled cry of frustration before sighing. Better get going before River noticed he was missing. As he sprinted after them, a gentle snow starting to fall from the grey sky, covering everything in pristine white.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If this chapter made you scream, please let me know in the comments <3


	3. Chapter 3

Malroth had forgotten just how rude the Moonbrooke crew were when they first met. He barely managed to not snap at Gerome;  _ dull-eyed simpleton!? For real?  _ He had to keep reminding himself that they didn’t know how awesome and important River was yet, still stuck in their brainwashed ways about endless fighting and 'emissary of annihilation' crap.

When they finally remembered that Anessa was literally dying from poison in front of them, River wasted no time working out the recipe for an antidote, and if Malroth was a bit rough while helping them gather frogstools, well, it just saved on time later on, right?

Unsurprisingly, the builder also took the time to grab anything and everything useful in sight. "You can never have too many medicinal leaves!" they chirped, stuffing the last of the bushy plant into their bag. In a matter of minutes River had shown their skill as a builder and had Anessa to full health, and in an equally short amount of time Malroth was internally cringing at how she spoke – she really had loosened up since moving to the Isle of Awakening.

Conversation slipped back to the monsters, Gerome lamenting the loss of the castle and then praising Hargon in the same breath. It made Malroth want to smack his head against the wall. Then talk moved to storming the castle, leaving River and Malroth little to do except follow Warwick out into the cold.

-

The freshly fallen snow crunched underfoot as the three made their way up to the castle ruins, though progress was slow with River side-tracking every few minutes to gather resources, Malroth oh-so-helpfully pointing out new clusters of green under the white blanket. The irritated looks Warwick kept sending him just made Malroth smirk in satisfaction.

Finally the group made it into the ruins proper, taking cover behind the rubble of what once might have been an elegant stone relief. In the growing dim of early evening they could just make out the dilapidated throne room from their position, a small purple monster idly lounging on the torn up throne.

"No offense mate, but your castle could use some work," Malroth said, cramming as much offense into his voice as possible. River looked about the rubble, face scrunched up in confusion.

"It's odd, I knew Moonbrooke had been destroyed but I thought the princess had rebuilt it. Is she ok?"

"A princess?" Warwick laughed, "wherever did you get that idea?"

"But that’s—"

"HEY HUMANTH, YOU'RE THTEALTHING THUCKTH! EVERYONE GET OVER HERE, WE'VE GOT THOME THTRAGLERTH TO TAKE CARE OF!"

Suddenly they were surrounded on all sides by skeletons and corpses. Looks like they'd lost the element of surprise, no thanks to Captain Loud Mouth, but that was fine, and Malroth immediately got stuck in smashing monsters the moment they got in range. River too was quick to respond, striking quickly with their blade before ducking out to sneak a mouthful of herbs. The two of them struck up a familiar rhythm and before long the battle was over, capped off with a quick high-five. Only the little gremlin left lying by the throne. The little monster rolled over to glare at them.

"I yield! I yield! Honethtly, you humanth are tho thubborn!" he complained before giggling madly, "you may have beaten me, but our army'th got the place thurrounded. You'll never win thith war! Keep fighting, jutht like the Children of Hargon taught you! Let death and dethtruction reign here forever more – thuch ith Moonbrooke'th dethtiny!"

In a puff of blue the monster vanished, leaving the three alone in the ruins. Malroth placed a hand on River's shoulder, offering small comfort as the builder looked solemnly at where the monster had been. Warwick's booming laugh felt completely out of place in the moment.

Malroth scowled, hadn't this guy ever learnt to read a room? He tuned out the captain's commendations of the two of them in favour of making sure there were no more monsters lurking around.

"Death and destruction as destiny? What a load of garbage," Malroth muttered, River looking equally put off by the statement. Wandering over to a section of wall that looked like it would crumble if you so much as breathed on it, Malroth tried to remember how much material they needed to kickstart the rebuilding. Castle walls used marble, right? Then it occurred to him, had he lost his ability to build when he came back? That… was an upsetting thought, but it would look weird if he could suddenly start making things out of nowhere. It was something to test later.

"Hey Riv, you know your stuff, does this place look fixable?" River surveyed the ruins seriously before nodding.

"Hmm, I need to get a better look at the extent of the damage, but it shouldn’t be too bad, gotta start somewhere after all right?" As they smiled, Malroth felt his heart warm. That ceaseless optimism had seen them through some pretty rough times, and he wanted to make sure it never faded. Warwick cleared his throat loudly, clearly tired of being ignored.

"I have every faith you can restore the castle to its former glory, but where in the world did you get such impressively powerful weapons? The sinful fruits of building no doubt, perhaps you two can be more helpful to us than I had previously hoped!" he cheered again, just barely masking the growl building in Malroth's throat. He stalked over to Warwick, taking advantage of the couple extra inches he had in height, and leaning right into the capitan’s personal space.

"Yeah, I hope you plan to help out with the rebuilding Bluey, cause there's no way I'm letting River get stuck doing all of this by themselves—"

"Malroth it's ok, I can just—"

The argument was cut short by the arrival of the others, the king immediately rambling off about jobs well done. Then Anessa started talking about fighting the endless war again, which turned into another argument. Malroth leant against the wall, eyes glazing over as he tuned out. The whole thing was so dumb considering how everything turned out in the end; 'fighting is our destiny', blah blah, 'prophecy smophecy', 'but we can win the war', big freaking whoop. He was abruptly pulled back in as Warwick turned to River.

"You require fighters for your cause, correct? Help me end the war and I pledge my sword to assist in your fight!" The builder fidgeted under the intense gazes of the guards. Looking back at Malroth, they smiled uncertainly but he could see a spark starting to flare up.

"Well, the two of us have a pretty good track record for taking on the Children at this point…" They drew in a deep breath, turning back to Warwick with a grin. "Sure, you can count on us!"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next few chapters are a bit slower because of setup but Malroth is going make sure Warwick feels his ire :D


	4. Chapter 4

It wasn't long before Anessa took control of the conversation, handing River a stack of castle wall blocks and asking them to patch up the throne room. The builder looked at them sceptically.

"I can build the room, but are you sure these will hold? They don’t seem that strong."

"Maybe not individually, but when constructed correctly, walls made with these blocks are nigh on unbreakable!" Anessa said confidently, "we must start our fortifications small and branch out, the more the castle is repaired the more we are spared the monster's meddling and may better prepare our counter-attack."

River still looked doubtful, but they got to work filling in gaps and openings until they had a fully secured room. A tingle ran up Malroth’s back making him shiver. Fixing the room really hadn't done anything for the cold. Maybe he would look into wearing a shirt this time round...

"Anessa and I trained together, but I could never match her when it came to strategy." Warwick said admiringly, "If you're here to learn about battle, you could do a jolly good deal worse than to learn from her." Off to the side Malroth crossed his arms and glowered at Warwick.

"I could never match her…" he mimicked under his breath, glaring holes into the back of the captain’s head. Honestly, it seemed so obvious now that Warwick would be the one to undermine all their efforts, the guy was trying way too hard, how had no one seen it! Warwick had known every soldier by name, never missed a day of training and had been so involved with castle life it was unthinkable to picture one without the other. His eyes widened as realisation struck him harder than one of Den's 'special' jiggers. By being so deep-rooted with the comings and goings of everyone, Warwick had managed to slip any suspicion like water off a slime’s back! Wait, that didn't seem right. Regardless, that was an annoyingly effective strategy, but also maybe one he could use too.

Malroth felt a slow smile stretching across his face, he could play that game too. 

As the king handed River a small stack of herbs, a chill wind blew in, raising the hairs on the back of Malroth's neck. It could have just been the ever present cold, but he'd always had a sixth sense for when a fight was brewing, and if the faint whiff in the air was right, they were about to face a big one.

"I smell monsters River, a whole bunch of them headed this way. We've not even been here half a day and they're already launching a massive assault. This place really is a war zone!"

That got everyone's attention.

After making sure the king wasn’t going to leave the safety of the throne room, the rest of them took up position above the castle wall. By now they could hear the rumble of monsters charging towards them.

"You ready for a big fight?" Malroth turned to his partner. They looked ahead intently as a cloud of kicked up snow ahead.

"Yeah, would have liked a bit more time but I'm good," they said. Malroth hefted his club with a chuckle.

"Great, let's take the fight to them. Time to mash some monsters!"

He leapt down just as the first lot came around the corner and straight into his swing. He saw the others engaging with the attackers, the ringing sound of metal on metal filling the area. Malroth didn’t hold back, finally getting the chance to whack something that didn’t break on contact. The fight was exhilarating, and he felt a bit more centred with every enemy that fell. All too soon the fight was over, Malroth and River high-fiving as the others cheered.

"Ha ha ha! Looks like the monsters here actually have a bit of backbone! I needed the exercise!" Malroth stretched, feeling in a significantly better mood. River laughed, elbowing him in the side.

"I'm just glad to see you smiling!" They turned to Anessa. "You were right about the wall blocks, they really kept the monsters out."

"Indeed! Though I must thank you for your excellent repair work. Now that we have a safe base to start from, we should focus on gradually restoring the rest of the ruined rooms and expanding our sphere of influence!" Anessa said before looking troubled.

Malroth watched intently as she spoke of the strength of the opposing army and her 'heartfelt conviction'. It was actually a very convincing performance… maybe she and Warwick were more alike than he'd first thought, two sides of the same coin, kinda like him and River…

"That fight felt like a challenge but Malroth and I have seen worse," River said thoughtfully, "surely it's just a matter of numbers?"

"Why don’t we go and have a look so you can see for yourself?" the captain suggested, "It's about time we scouted out the enemy's positions."

-

Against the backdrop of snow and stone, Warwick led River and Malroth up a hidden path in the mountain that bordered the castle. The group stopped atop a snowy outcrop overlooking the extent of the siege forces. It was the usual mix of monsters that lived on Moonbrooke, headed up by one monster significantly larger than the rest. Judging by the way River was tensing up beside him, they'd noticed the troll too.

Ugh he hated trolls; big, stupid, arrogant blowhards. They were fun to fight at least, less so to smell. From their vantage point the trio watched as a skeleton ran up to the big lug and said something which caused the huge monster to laugh. Its booming voice carried up to them as it jabbered on about 'fun fighting'.

"Talk about toying with your food," River murmured, looking pale. Malroth placed a comforting hand on their shoulder. Warwick crouched as if trying to get a better look at something below them.

"The fiends will stop at nothing to see us suffer, and this is only their advance guard." Warwick said.

"Ok, point made," Malroth sighed, trying to read the captain's expression, "that’s more than we've ever fought at once, but with enough people we could totally kick their asses!" He knew they could, they'd done it before. Warwick gave him a patronizing look that made his blood boil.

"While I appreciate your optimism, I feel that Anessa will have a more practical idea on how we should proceed."

He wasn’t gonna shove him off the cliff, he  _ wasn’t _ going to  _ shove him _ off the  _ cliff _ , Malroth  _ really wanted _ to shove him off _ the god damn cliff! _ But he wouldn’t, because he was reasonable, and he couldn’t afford to ruin this. Although, if he brought up an early assault on the boss troll with Anessa now, maybe she'd be more willing to work with him about it later. 

"Fine, let's get back before all the light's gone," Malroth growled.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Still alive! Thank you all for being so patient~ Hehe look at Malroth using that brain of his <3


End file.
